Hjalmar Hvam (November 16, 1902- March 30, 1996) was an immensely skilled four-way skier who became a legend on Mt. Hood, not just for his competition records but also as an inventor of release bindings. Four-way skiing shows proficiency in downhill and slalom as well as jumping and nordic (cross country).
Hvam was born in Norway and won prizes in both ski jumping and cross-country competition by age 12. He arrived in Oregon in 1927 but moved to North America in 1923. He found his way to Portland in 1927 and co-founded the Cascade Ski Club. In 1931, he and club members Arne Stene and Andre Roch skied down Mount Hood from the summit and are credited as being the first to accomplish that feat.
As a competitor, Hvam won the Nordic Combined title at the U.S. Championships in 1932, and qualified for the 1936 Olympic Winter Games, but did not compete due to not having his citizenship papers. In 1936, Hvam won the Golden Rose Ski Classic at Timberline, which continues to be billed as the oldest ski race in the nation – even though it was a summer race. He repeated that win in 1937.
His four-way prowess really showed when he won all four events at an international meet on Mt. Baker in Washington. He won eight Pacific Northwest Division Championships from 1932 through 1937, including: the cross-country in 1932 and 1933, the downhill in 1935, 1936 and 1937, the alpine combined in 1935 and 1936 as well as the slalom in 1936. Hvam made a name for himself as a coach as well, leading the U.S. Nordic Combined team at the 1952 Olympic Winter Games.
After suffering a broken leg from a fall, Hvam designed the Saf-Ski binding that would allow a ski boot to safely release from the ski during a fall. The design became popular after World War II and he sold and rented the bindings into the 1970s through ski shops he operated in in Portland and on Mount Hood. He continued to enjoy the sport well into his 80s.
Hjalmar Hvam was inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1967